Frontotemporal craniotomies are commonly performed for a variety of neurosurgical pathologies. Infections related to craniotomies cause significant morbidity. We hypothesized that the risk of cranial surgical site infections (SSIs) may be increased in patients whose frontal sinuses are breached during craniotomy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the rate of cranial SSIs in patients undergoing frontotemporal craniotomies with and without frontal sinus breach (FSB).

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing frontotemporal craniotomies for the management of cerebral aneurysms from 2005 to 2014. This study included 862 patients undergoing 910 craniotomies. Primary outcomeof interest was occurrence of a cranial SSI. Standard statistical methods were utilized to explore associations between a variety of variables including FSB, cranial SSI, and infections requiring reoperation.